Divine Interruptions Series

DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS

By: C. Mason Davis

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”

You're going make it through, and God’s going make it for you. All the glory will go to Him when we get home, home to heaven. We’ll be giddy with happiness, but we won't be able to have any bragging rights. Heaven isn’t a place for narcissism. If you’re lucky enough to make it into your elder years before you’re called to heaven, it’s because He has a much higher purpose for you for while you’re here on earth, or He’s still waiting for you to get “it.” I've been so blessed because I'm entering my senior years, and I'm still excited about living. But you know you're getting old when some kid looks at you and says, “You look like that old man in the ‘Up’ movie.” Just know that before you get into heaven, you’ve got work to do. You have expectations to fill even though there are going to be a lot of interruptions that might keep you from succeeding in these expectations throughout your whole life. But this is where having faith in God comes in real handy at times.

When I speak about divine interruptions, I’m not talking about divine intervention. They are alike in some ways, but they are not the same thing. For example, for a writer, there is a direct correlation between having writer’s block and divine interruptions. So, what is divine interruption? Some believe that divine interruptions are unpredictable events in life that are part of God's plan. They can be a way for God to speak to us, lead us in a new direction, or give us a new purpose. They can also be a way for God to wake us up to what's around us, and to see that there's more to do than our daily tasks. Divine intervention is when God actively changes a situation in human affairs. It can also refer to any event that seems miraculous.

Divine interruptions can come in many forms, including:

• Unplanned delays: God may use these to slow us down and help us align with his timing.

• Events or circumstances: These can redirect us onto a different path than the one we were on. For example, God interrupted Jonah's life of comfort by commanding him to leave his country and preach to an enemy.

• Challenges: God may interrupt our plans to reveal our fears, worries, and insecurities.

Some say that divine interruptions are a blessing and a gift of grace, and that we should welcome them. They believe that we can handle them differently and await them eagerly if we believe they are a privilege.

I’ve always looked for anybody that knows something about God that I don’t, as well as people who don’t know as much about God that I do. The most fascinating thing I've ever encountered was God, and it was my mother who made me believe in Him first. It was my mother who told me His name and told me all about Him. That woman was so unbelievably smart. It was obvious that her blonde did not go down to her roots. Jesus said, "I told you I have sheep you don't know about." My mother surprised so many people by her intelligence and even more-so by her faith and love of the Lord. She said, "it just seems to me that God is in the interruptions of my life, and He's seldomly not in my plans." And I thought, “that's how I need to be, too.”

Whether you have interruptions or disruptions, we've all had them. When you go home tonight, think about your life and when you were really interrupted or disrupted. Was God the cause? Did you feel God was there? This is where we get to learn to walk by faith. When we get to heaven, I’ve wondered how we are going to please God, because without faith, it's impossible to please God.

Well, I know we're interrupted, but I wonder if Jesus was ever interrupted. I searched the Bible for them, and I found a couple. Remember that woman with the blood issue. She interrupted His journey. She got healed, and she made it

into the Bible. We're still talking about her. Remember that time Jesus was

preaching, and we don't know what He was preaching about because

nobody wrote it down, but He was on His third point when they sawed

through the roof and let a crippled guy down in front of Jesus, and Jesus

healed him, and He saved him. And this interruption made the Bible, but the

sermon didn't. Here's God on foot preaching, and nobody took notes. Mary’s life was interrupted, also. She was only 13 years old, when Gabriel showed up and interrupted her morning and said, "You're gonna birth a baby." And she says, "But I've never known a man." which was a very good start of the conversation. Mary’s life had then been interrupted. Her life would never be the same, but she accepted the gift from God without hesitation because she knew her life was being interrupted for a worthy reason. And Gabriel explained how this was gonna happen. And then Mary said, "Be it unto me as you say." What a trooper she was. And then she started singing and worshipping the Lord. “Be it unto me as you say." Now that is a very strong young woman. Very strong in her faith. And then, thankfully, the angel stopped by and told Joseph of the plan. Joseph, was a very interesting person. He must have never said anything worth writing down. Not one word in the Bible is from Joseph. Even the cows got in Bible from just their mooing. Joseph put Mary on a donkey, and they travel 90 miles or so. It’s no wonder her water broke. And after all of that traveling, he forgot to book a room and the only inn was full. Actually, way back then there wasn’t a way to send ahead for a reservation, so that really wasn’t Joseph’s fault at all. But don't tell me God can't use anybody for His purpose or to make a plan come to fruition. I mean, the whole Bible's full of sinners, frauds, and failures, just like you, and just like me. Because on our best days we're a pack of sinners trying to find our way home, and our Father in heaven is always there for us. He see’s all and knows all before, during, and after in each of our lives. He doesn’t always get our attention through a lightning bolt or a clap of thunder. Sometimes His attempts to capture our attention and our focus, can be much less obvious, such as through a well-placed interruption that seems more commonplace than epic.